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Onsite brick production creates jobs, cuts costs

The Soul City housing project in the Northern Cape, involving the
construction of 1 500 houses, is being implemented by
Kimberley-based construction company Shelter Fabrication and
Construction and Gauteng’s Saftra, a manufacturer of Solbric
brick-making machines.

Community involvement in brick production is also possible, says
Saftra Houses MD Serge d’Almeida, adding that another
advantage is that the bricks are made onsite, avoiding transport
costs and the risks of breakage and loss.

The contract for the Soul City development was awarded last year,
and a factory – equipped with ten SC4 machines – was
established near the building site.

About 30 000 bricks can be produced a day.

The factory employs about 300 locals, of whom 55% are women.

“The Solbric building method is swift and
user-friendly,” says d’Almeida. “Because the
bricks interlock with each other, little cement is required for the
construction of a house,” he adds. The shape of the bricks is
designed to give a face-brick effect and to allow electric cables
to pass through the wall, making chiselling unnecessary.

“A qualified bricklayer is only required to lay the first
level of bricks, and the rest of the job can be done by unskilled
workers under supervision,” says d’Almeida. “The
population around the area can therefore get involved in the
construction of the houses and acquire a certain skill when
completing the job,” he adds.

The bricks are a mix of mainly soil and a small amount of cement
and Clayfix – a clay stabiliser produced by the company
– which is then compressed at an average pressure of 15 bar,
giving the bricks a strength of at least 5 MPa.

“Bricks produced by Solbric machines are of impressive
quality and set high standards in the low- and medium-cost housing
industry,” claims d’Almeida. “Because of their
density, they insulate both the heat and the chill of South African
weather,” he adds. The company manufactures dry-stacking
block machines and stock-brick machines. The stock-brick machines
can produce up to 45 000 bricks a day.